Dawn
“Loki, it’s lookin’ into your quiet eyes – silent tears
Silent as the night you deserted me…”
“Have you been listening to Golden Earring again, Silver?” “Yeah! What about it, Loki?”
“You’re a creep! You’re a weirdo! What the hell are you doing here singing Golden Earring songs to me?”
Hmmm! What’s this dingle dongle dangling down before me?
GRRrrrrr!
And yet another cheese standoff.
Snowy Egret
Chewed on by a porcupine.
Canadian Geese @ dusk
No clouds or contrails anywhere to be seen. What is one to do? What is one to do?
Jupiter and the crescent moon were in the Tangle Heart Tree.
Cranes
Coyote, Wile E., that is, was hanging out with us again.
Looks like il Paparazzo put out some cheez! Yeah! What are you going to do about it?
You gonna eat that pizza, Paparazzo?
Dawn
I had a Cat 7 (seven cats piled on me) at 3:00 in the morning. Loki is under the covers, lying across my hips. That’s where he likes to sleep on me. See the Kitty Key for an accounting of cats.
Wile E. Coyote hanging out with us on the levee.
Cranes at dusk
Daddy Owl and Mama Owl were hanging out together.
Another great cheese stand-off.
The Tangle Heart Tree and Wile E on the levee.
Not much color on the Sandias tonight.
Afrerglow at dusk
A dreary dawn began the day
Socked in by heavy clouds and strong winds
Spunk was socked in, also
Cold Moon rising through an anonymous tree yesterday.
Cold Moon and Orion with black lace trees when we got home after midnight.
Hey, Spunk. I’ve been watching Marble play with her tail for the past 20 minutes. She’s quite silly.
Hey, Paparazzo! What’s sillier is that you stood there watching Marble play with her tail for 20 minutes. Hahahahahaha! Stupid Paparazzo!
Loki: “Eye don’t think any of you are funny!”
Gwendolyn: “I don’t get it!”
Loki
That is the question!
Sasha
Loki
Spunk
Glenda
Snowing in the parking lot
We got a half an inch of rain today. I noticed the rain had washed out part of the bridge as I drove over it on the way home this afternoon. After I got home, I changed my clothes, put on boots, gathered up a shovel and a wheelbarrow, walked the quarter mile back up to the bridge, and filled the hole before it grew larger. After I filled the hole in the bridge, I filled many of the larger holes in the road where it runs parallel to the ditch before it got dark.
The photo on the left shows a long puddle in the road reflecting the sunset. The photo on the right shows a long puddle filled with dirt, and the water splashed to the side, reflecting the dusk.
Spunk grooving on a beanbag.
Spunk meditating on magic dirt clods while grooving on a beanbag.
Spunk the “Box Hugger” protesting my breaking down boxes for recycling.
Spunk Art
Catnip & Cheese
Silver indulging in fresh catnip. All of the cats hold the catnip in one paw like Silver.
Lacy sunset
Fast-moving clouds swallowed the moon.
Loki: “Il Paparazzo sta per morire!”
Spunk: “Boy, I say boy, pay close attention to me ’cause you’re a burrito short of a combination plate.”†
Loki: “You’re bothering me, boy!”
Spunk: “Wait ’till you turn off the light, Paparazzo!”
Meet the new snake. Same as the old snake.††
Nice reflection this afternoon.
Cottonwoods in the bosque turned red at sunset.
Sunset looking north from the top of the levee.
†Foghorg Leghorn quote.
††Juvenile Bullsnake: I moved him from the top of the levee so he wouldn’t get run over by the cyclists who were behind me.
Corrales flood control channel this afternoon.
When I first started riding in July, the flood control channel was dry, and I could ride across the arroyo where the water ends, 300 yards from where I took this photo. At first, the flood control channel filled with water from rain collected on the west mesa up to 20 miles west of Corrales. That was the beginning of the second week of September. Since the beginning of October, the flood control channel has been filled with water. However, we have had zero rain in Corrales in October and little rain in Rio Rancho west of Corrales. I finally came to the realization that the water in the flood control channel is the treated wastewater from Rio Rancho backing up into the channel. I have not investigated why the water is backing up into the flood control channel now when the channel was dry in July, August, and the first week of September.
The treated wastewater from Rio Rancho is released into the mouth of the flood control channel near the levy and flows into the Rio Grande, as does the runoff collected by the flood control channel. Rio Rancho is the third largest city in New Mexico, with 109,060 people in 2023.
Cyclists, runners, and hikers who want to cross the flood control channel to continue north or south on the levee or the Bosque trail either have to ford the water or walk, run, or ride 200 yards into the flood control channel to get around the water.
The outlet for Rio Rancho’s treated wastewater.
Treated wastewater flowing toward the mouth of the flood control channel. The water smells like chlorine and detergents. I was surprised to see people fishing there the other day.
Different views of the treated wastewater outlet.
Erosion east of the current outlet. The erosion may be from before they reworked the area. The photo on the right is looking west from the eroded area.
The photo on the left was taken on 9/9/2023. The photo on the right was taken on 10/28/2023. You can see how much farther the water extends into the channel in the photo on the right.
Sasha and Glenda hovering over the heater.
It’s cold this week. The cats are clamoring for the space heaters we use to warm the spaces close to us. The cats were all piled up on me at 3:50 AM this morning. I had a cold ride this afternoon with the temps in the low 40s.
Cats from head to toe: Sasha on my chest in the foreground. Gwendolyn’s ears are on the right in the foreground. She was under the covers, resting her head on my shoulder. After Sasha is Marble, Spunk, Silver, and then Glenda is at the end of the bed, curled up on my feet. Loki was on Laurie out of the picture.
Off Center & Not Even 